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tv   Erin Burnett Out Front  CNN  December 27, 2012 4:00pm-5:00pm PST

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>> reporter: actually, it's "put a gun to his head," not a bullet. wilk wilkinson told the smoking gun that he's the one who let the dash cam video go on to youtube. our police cruiser crooner did improvise just once at the end of the song and did it in a witty way. instead of singing "nothing really matters," he sang -- ♪ nothing really matters, have been the rcmp ♪ >> reporter: and with that, he put on his glasses and awaited his removal. >> do you have to cuff me? physical violence is the least of my priorities. >> reporter: his priority is ra rhapsodizing like a bohemian. ♪ mama mia >> reporter: jeanne moos, cnn. >> not much left to say. "erin burnett outfront" starts right now.
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"outfront" next, over the cliff. that's where senate majority leader harry reid says we're headed. can washington save us with just five days to go? plus, a proposal to give guns to school principals is gaining support. we're "outfront" with an arizona sheriff who's backing that plan. and the 2012 election was all about viral videos, tonight we're counting down our favorite political video of the year. let's go "outfront." i'm john avalon in for erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, a stark warning from capitol hill. senate majority leader harry reid says we're all headed for fiscal disaster. >> if we go over the cliff, and it looks like that's where we're headed, mr. president, the house of representatives, as we speak, with four days left before the first of the year, aren't here. >> we're now told the house will
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finally return to work on sunday. now, that's december 30th. in other words, less than 48 hours before we go over the fiscal cliff. meanwhile, president obama cut his hawaii vacation short to return to washington today. but has he been working on a deal? "outfront" tonight, reports from both ends of pennsylvania avenue. chief white house correspondent, jessica yellin, and senior congressional correspondent, dana bash. jessica, first, to you, the president's back in washington, wheels down. he left his christmas vacation early. but was this just a bit of showmanship, or has he been working on something specific? >> reporter: hey, john. well, today has been a bit of a quiet day here at the white house. publicly, the president has been scarce, no sign of him. behind closed doors, i'm told a few meetings internally, but mostly, relatively quiet. i expect we will see more from the president, perhaps we could even see him publicly tomorrow. perhaps he could even meet with or talk to some of the
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congressional leaders. the president's role in all of this, he can get each of the leaders to come closer on what the white house believes is already, pretty clearly, the framework for a final deal, and he can also go out and lobby the american people to pressure congress to get something done. again, the democrats are insistent that they have been clear on the outlines of what a deal would look like, to raise taxes on those earning $250,000 and more, and keep them where they are for everyone else. the bottom line, john, is with this little time left, is there anything that's going to avert getting us over -- going over the cliff, and the oddsmakers in washington really feel at this point, probably not, we're probably going over that cliff, john. >> that is not cheerful news, jessica. >> sorry. >> dana, what are you hearing? we just reported earlier that senators reid and mcconnell, they just met, but now they're saying, it wasn't about the fiscal cliff. what else is there to talk
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about? >> reporter: no. i think we know exactly what their new year's eve plans will be, we're going to be right here. senator reid himself said that they did not discuss that. and it seems to be that that is an indication, at least to republicans here on capitol hill, that it is the president's move next to make more clear what jessica is talking about. that the president has said publicly, he wants to do as kind of that stopgap, scaled down version. in fact, mitch mcconnell himself said in the hallway, just moments ago, that he does expect to go to the white house, as jessica just alluded to. he expects to do that tomorrow. they haven't gotten a formal invitation tomorrow. there's no time set for this meeting tomorrow, but mitch mcconnell says he does expect to go. and so that really does speak to the next move, tomorrow. >> well, that is good news. that is good news, senator mcconnell going to the white house tomorrow, hopefully. but i'm going to ask you about the house of representatives, dana. right now they've been called back to washington, not until sunday, december 30th. now, 48 hours before the fiscal cliff goes over, is that really enough time to get legislation passed, if there's a real deal
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on the table? >> reporter: is it enough time? probably. if there's really something that is going to pass the senate, and this is a big if, as jessica said, the oddsmakers are definitely seeing the fiscal cliff happening, us going over the fiscal cliff, but if senate does pass something, that would be the next move, then the house could pretty easily take it up and pass it on sunday night or monday morning, on the actual day of december 31st. i think at this point, it's more of a question of optics, and democrats were definitely trying to take advantage today of the fact that the house republican -- the republican-led house, rather, is not here and won't be here until sunday. we all know that what happens here in washington, is that nothing really happens until they're really up against the deadline. that's why i'm also told by some democrats who really know what the process is going to be, if there is one, that they don't even see this potentially happening, if there is any kind
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of legislation that goes before december 1331st, until probably that day, december 31st, because the pressure will have to be on to get enough republicans in the house and the senate, to pass this. >> right up to the edge. thank you, dana. thank you, jessica. now, right now, the most likely deal on the table seems to be that scaled-down proposal president obama suggested last fright. just to recap, extend tax cuts on household income under $250,000, that's 98% of americans. extend unemployment insurance. that's important. and likely extend the alternative minimum tax fix. but is this bared down plan something house republicans can really get behind? "outfront" tonight to answer that question, republican congressman tom mcclintock of california, a member of the house budget committee. mr. congressman, good to see you. could you back that scaled back plan to avoid going over the fiscal cliff? >> as i said all along, republicans don't want taxes to go up on anyone. if we have an impasse on january 1st, they go up on everyone.
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so at some point, i think that we republicans have got to realize that if we can't save everybody, we need to try to save as many people as possible. that's not advocating a tax increase. if a lifeguard sees ten people drowning off his beach and can only save nine of them, it doesn't mean he's drowned the tenth one. >> you're a strong, fiscal conservative, but part of that problem solvers camp who's not going to let the whole country go off the cliff. but what about your fellow fiscal conservatives? are there going to be enough of you to support a pared down plan that does raise taxes on 2% of americans? >> no, it doesn't raise taxes. those tax increases will go into effect. there's no bill before the congress that raises taxes. there are many bills that are trying to stop those taxes in various forms. and let me be clear. i think the president's plan is an absolute disaster. a lot of those wealthy folks earning over $200,000 aren't even folks. they're small businesses, filing under sub-chapter "s," some 84%
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of net business income is affected by this tax increase. that's the income they use to create and expand two-thirds of the jobs in our economy. that is an absolutely insane economic policy, but that's at the core of what the president is trying to do. the cbo is warning us, $200,000 jobs will be destroyed by this policy. but if we can't stop it, the best we can do is offer every warning we can, and then try and save as many other taxpayers as possible. >> do you think the white house should add a little sweetener to the deal for some conservatives? for example, stalling the sequestration cuts and extending the current estate tax rates? >> oh, i don't want to see the sequestration tax cuts stalled. quite the contrary. this is a spending problem. we've seen a 64% increase in federal spending over the past decade. nearly past the rate of inflation and population growth combined. these sequestration cuts aren't even cut s at all, they simply
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slow the rate to 1.5%. that's not a step back from the cliff, that's a step off the cliff. >> so you want the sequestration cuts to go ahead, even on defense. i'm just getting breaking news that the president -- >> well, just remember, on defense, we are now spending substantially more, inflation adjusted, at the height of the vietnam war, when we were waging the cold war and we had 500,000 troops in the field. >> well, cnn has just confirmed, congressman, that the white house, the president will meet with the congressional leadership, both parties tomorrow at the white house. what do you think they need to put on the table and get done tomorrow? what do you want to hear them say? >> john, when did we stop teach civics in our schools? the president is not supposed to be part of the deliberative process. he heads an entirely separate branch of government with an altogether different purpose. i think we need to go back to the way the government was designed to operate, and that is the deliberative function, in the legislative branch, both the house and the senate, acting independently. and then resolving their
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differences through conference. that process works, it works very well. this business of a couple of legislative leaders and the president going behind closed doors, coming up with some clever scheme, and then dropping it in the laps of the congress for a take it or leave it vote produces bad policy. in fact, bad process also produces bad policy, and that's what we're seeing. >> congressman, we've been seeing virtually no progress to date, but i hope folks have your optimism about not going over the cliff because of the disastrous implications. congre congressman mcclinton, thanks for coming on. chuck hagel hasn't even been formally nominated to be the next defense secretary, and he's already taking right hooks from members of his own party, but do the attacks add up? plus, new questions about facebook's privacy settings after mark zuckerberg's own sister complains about a private photo that went very public. and we count down our favorite viral videos of the 2012 election.
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our second story "outfront." is chuck hagel's nomination dead on arrival? now hagel, the former republican
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senator and vietnam war hero, could be president obama's choice to be the next defense secretary. but today he's under attack by a group of gay republicans known as the log cabin republicans. now, this full-page ad said hagel's wrong for the job because of a statement he made back in 1998, when he questioned whether, in his words, a quote, openly, aggressively gay nominee could be an effective u.s. ambassador. now, a lot's changed since then, and hagel has since apologized, though that has also come under attack for his somewhat controversial beliefs on israel, iraq, and iran. are these attacks justified, or is he just the latest political target in an ugly game of gotcha politics. "outfront" tonight, our all-star panel. ryan, let me start with you. let's look at chuck hagel's credentials. a vietnam war veteran, two purple hearts, a former member of the senate foreign relations committee. that's more military experience than most secretaries of
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defense. hagel himself has argued that that position should be filled with someone who's been a grunt, on the ground, and knows those concerns. how can you argue that he's not qualified for the job? >> there are a lot of folks who are saying that he doesn't have the military experience. if you look at ashton carter, they have been in the defense department, they're solid, reliable democrats, they know it in and out, and might be better choices for the government. but there are a lot of conservatives who are attacking hagel on policy grounds, and one argument we haven't heard a lot of, when you look at zoe baird, tom daschle, a lot of other nominees in the past who have been attacked, they've been attacked for personal reasons, who they've hired to be their babysitter, and here we're having an open argument about chuck hagel's of ideological views and commitments. >> and you have three lines of attack with former senator chuck hagel. you have the comments as it relates to the gaggressively ga
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ambassadors -- which i'm still trying to figure out, aggressively gay. >> it was out at a time -- >> i know. but that line. so then you have the folks who are attacking him, when it comes to policy. but then you have democrats who really are angry with the president by say welcome my god, why do you democrats keep trying to find republicans to be your secretaries of defense. can't you find a democrat to do it? because bill clinton had bill cohen. so he's getting hit from so many different sides. >> he's getting -- and he's getting hit from republicans. he's getting hit from every side. i think it was an obtuse choice. and what the one house has done in floating his name and then being m.i.a. so, yeah, chuck hagel's nomination is d.o.a., and in the meantime, the white house is m.i.a. he's got to work really, really hard to find a nominee who is offensive to democrat-based constituencies hiy ies like gay
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advocates, and who's also offensive to republicans. you really have to work hard to find that combination. >> i think that's a totally strong point. he has no one in his corner, basically, except the president. >> and you talked about bill cohen as secretary of defense. did you know bill cohen got nominated and approved, unanimously, by the u.s. senate? >> john kerry is liked by more republicans than this guy. >> chuck schumer won't support -- >> a very different time. but we've got a record of democratic presidents picking republicans to be secretary of defense, bill cohen. this should fall -- >> they have a record of picking democrats. >> that is, in fact, the case. but let me ask you this, ana. as a republican, you raise the point that no one's coming to his defense, that's not really the case. there are a whole bunch coming to his defense, a bipartisan group of former secretaries of defense, let me name a few. they cosigned a letter in "the
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washington post" and let me read what they said. "we strongly object, as a matter of substance and as a matter of principle, to the attacks on the chark of former senator chuck hagel. mr. hagel is a man of unshakable character and integrity who has served his country in the most distinguished manner in peace and war." that is a bipartisan group of highly respected people. why shouldn't those voices be as loud as special interests waging a campaign against chuck hagel? >> i don't think gay advocates, i don't think israel advocates are special interest. they are incredibly important base constituencies to the democrat party. they are also very significant in our society. they are people -- and let's also talk about this, with the gay comment he made. first of all, i think it shows a tremendous bias. i don't know what aggressively gay is, i can only describe it as aggressively stupid. i asked every gay friend of mine to be aggressively gay, and have still not been able to get an answer. and the next secretary of defense will have to implement the full integration of gays openly into the military. >> what's your list?
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not a single one of those folks, they have a vote. so if real issue is, will you have senators who come out and step up, and again, just like we discussed last night with susan rice, the president, he needs to say, if this is my guy, nominate him. >> and there's a problem, because the president does need to back these folks. there is an outreach to the republicans. that's part of the irony. but ryan, you mentioned that he's come under fire for his views on israel. i went back and read chuck hagel's memoir, and i want to read you a quote on israel in the book. he said, "there is one important given in peace negotiations, it's not negotiable. a comprehensive solution should not include any compromise, regarding israel's jewish identity, which must be assured. the israeli people must be freeway to live in peace and security." that sounds pretty pro-israel, doesn't it? >> it sure does, and there are many other statements that sound less so, including the talk about direct negotiation with hamas. that's a position that many people find very controversial, indeed. those are all people who many people have believed want the united states to distance itself from israel and be a more
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even-handed broker between israel and its arab rivals. now, that is a controversial view. and what we've seen happen is the people who are backing hagel are people who want the united states to be evenhanded, rather than to primarily be an ally in the state of israel. >> i've got to tell you guys, what really is going on here, and i think you'll all agree, that chuck hagel was a vocal critic of bush administration policy during the iraq war. >> i don't think so, john. i think he's got his own backing. >> the republicans being proposed by a potential democratic president. so, again, you can't satisfy anybody. that's his biggest problem. he has no backers. >> bill clinton did that and got bill cohen. how can you make that argument? >> because of what john's just saying. more civil times. >> and by the way -- >> that's why. >> and hillary clinton got great support from the republicans. >> and so did john kerry. >> your point was on it. bottom line is, the criticism about him, by fellow republicans, because of iraq, and iraq, that's why. >> chuck hagel dug his grave,
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least got to lie in it. >> easy with the grave talk. >> he made his bed, he should sleep in it. >> hasn't even been nominated. "outfront" next, new concerns about facebook's privacy settings. mark zuckerberg's own sister learned about them the hard way. [ sniffs ] i have a cold. [ sniffs ] i took dayquil but my nose is still runny. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't treat that. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ breathes deeply ] awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is. that's the cold truth! your doctor will say get smart about your weight. i tried weight loss plans... but their shakes aren't always made for people with diabetes. that's why there's glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes.
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our third story "outfront." zuckerberg's privacy settings. randy zuckerberg, the sister of facebook founder mark
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zuckerberg, posted this photo on her own facebook page, and thought only her friends would see it. it's a shot of her family, reacting to a new facebook app called poke, and it wound up going very public. the photo has since been taken down, but not before websites like mashable.com published it far and wide. now, an irony, to be sure, but it does raise a lot of questions about facebook privacy. cnn's josh levs is "outfront" on this story tonight. josh, break it down for us. how did this happen? >> and josh, it's such an innocent photo. there's nothing at all salacious about it. but i'll tell you what happened. because this is getting a lot of people talking about their own photos aez well and the privacy that goes along with it. so one of two things happened. she posted it on facebook, that much we know. maybe she mistakenly posted it so that all of her subscribers could see it, which is a bigger list than just your friends. the other possibility, and a lot of people don't realize facebook works this way, she posted it, and then one of her friends, who legitimately got to see it, commented on it and liked it,
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and in doing that, all of that person's friends got to see it. because if you don't tell facebook you don't want it to work that way, that's how it works. so one of her subscribersliked , and it made her angry. she said, "not sure where you got this photo. i posted it to friends on fb. you re-posting it to twitter is way uncool." and then she followed up, "digital etiquette, always ask permission before posting a friend's photo publicly. it's not about privacy settings, it's about human decency." and the person who posted it was like, i'm sorry, i just thought it was cool. >> titans of industry, "way uncool." but facebook just published guidelines on this very thing. >> yeah, in fact, they just
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published brand-new guidelines very recently. we talk you through them at cnn.com/tech. and some of them are really popular, that now in the sense that it should be easier for you to get photos that you don't like of yourself removed. but there are still some controversies about that. so john, it's not enough. this is going to be the eternal tussle, the eternal struggle around social media. because the value of true social media lies in your information. >> josh levs on the latest facebook flap. thank you for coming o"outfron." "outfront" next, arming our school principals. it's a movement that is gaining support around the country. and we also count down to the top political viral videos of the year. how many your favorites made the list? find out, next. op eating 'em! what's...that... on your head? can curlers! tomato basil, potato with bacon... we've got a lot of empty cans. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. we've got a lot of empty cans. ...so as you can see, geico's customer satisfaction is at 97%.
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breaking news tonight. retired general norman schwartzkof has died. it reads, "barbara and i mourn the loss of a true american president, and one of the great military leaders of his generation. a distinguished member of that long, great line hailing from west point, general norm schwarz kof epitomizes our nation. more than that, he was a good and decent man and a dear friend. barbara and i send our
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condolences to his wife, brenda, and his wonderful family." very sad news for the country. we start our second half of our show with the other stories we're watching tonight. former president george w.h. bush remains in intensive care at a houston hospital, where he's been treated for a fever. a spokesperson tells our miguel marquez that doctors are in no hurry to rush him out. he also says the former president is not on a ventilator and is good spirits. his chief of staff sent out a statement, saying his boss' condition is not dire, and saying, please put the harps back in the closet. the city of newtown, connecticut, has received so many gifts since the december 14th shooting at sandy hook elementary that a local official has asked people to stop sending items like teddy bears and blankets, because postal workers can't handle the volume. officials say they should donate the items to needy children and
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families in their own community instead. another sign that people are truly worried about the fiscal cliff. an index that tracking consumer confidence fell more than expected in december, to 65.1. now, that's down from 71.5 reading in november, and well below the estimate of 70. barclay's economist deen mackey tells us, consumers, quote, recognize they face a large, potential drop in income if no agreement on the fiscal cliff is regioned soon. let's hope washington is listening. environmental protection agency administrator lisa jackson has announced that she will step down from her post after the president's state of the union address in february. in a statement, jackson says she's leaving the epa, quote, confident the ship is sailing in the right direction. russian president vladimir putin has indicated he will sign a bill that bars the adoption of russian children by u.s. families. he said he'll first study the final text of the bill, but says he sees no reason not to sign it. the law is a big deal for many american. nearly a thousand russian
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children were adopted here in just the last year alone. the move is largely seen as retaliation for a law president obama signed that restricts russian human rights abusers from traveling to the u.s. our fourth story "outfront" tonight, arming our school principals. a proposal by arizona attorney general tom horn to give guns to school principals is gaining some support. horn says school shootings like the one in newtown, county, could be prevented if a school employee were armed and trained to use a gun. at least 36 investigators and three sheriffs are now backing the proposal, including sheriff paul babu of arizona, who's written, "the nra is correct. we need a cop in every school. we have a people problem, not a gun problem." sheriff paul babeu is "outfront" tonight. thank you for joining us. >> thank you, john. >> sheriff, i understand the attractiveness of this proposal, an armed guard, a school member
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training with a weapon. but let's look at the facts, going back to columbine and virginia tech, columbine, they had two armed guards on the campus at the time, virginia tech had 34 armed guards. so the evidence, sheriff, suggests that armed guards on campus do not stop school massacre. >> well, you see a school that i grew up in, there was just one building. and some of these campuses or college campuses, as you point out, there could be eight, there could be 20-some odd buildings. and to my point, training and arming designated school administrators or designated teachers. some school districts may not want to do this, but for those who do, law enforcement provides them that training, and they would be a critical, immediate response to an active shooter. because these safe school zones with the gun-free safe school act of 1990 and '95 created this
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thousand-foot perimeter around our schools, and it did some good, yet what it's done is create this sitting duck zone. and basically, the only people who are going to follow not only the 20,000 plus laws and regulations already restricting gun ownership and weapons, are criminals. and those who are mentally ill, that see these as alluring targets and magnets to create these mass murders. >> but, sheriff, you know, the presence of two armed guards at columbine and 34 virginia tech, that didn't deter these crazed gunman. doesn't that cause you to question the logic of your proposal? >> it doesn't. and here's why. and this is a black mark on us in law enforcement. our tactics have changed. back then, just in the last ten years, that we used to have, in columbine, here's where, there were cops outside that building, as additional people were being shot and bleeding out, for some time while the s.w.a.t. team
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rallied, developed a plan, and then went in. and here's where today, if i'm the only deputy that shows up to your school or a mall or a church or whatever it may be, that i run in, and that while everybody is running that way, i run in towards the threat, and to mitigate or eliminate the threat, whether it's one or multiple assailants. and so this is where some of our schools, right here in pin elle county, there's not just one building, there's several levels. and this is where people we already trust, who have extensive criminal background checks, we have their fingerprints, they know the schools, i'm talking administrators and teachers, and they love our students, why not these people that we trust, if they would like to, is provide them the training, so not keep a weapon in a lock box, but actually armed and concealed with, so they can defend their own lives and the lives of our children. >> i'm going to move on to another point.
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because the president was on with carol costello earlier today and talked about his vision for how this proposal could be implemented. let's take a listen. >> when wayne la pierre spoke about a week ago, he suggested that what has to happen, and what should happen, is that in every school district, administrators, teachers, and parents should sit down and ask, what's needed to protect the students in that school. some of them will want police officers there. others of them will want private security guards. there may be some places where they want volunteers to do it. we're willing to work with everybody. >> are you comfortable, sheriff, with the sort of patchwork vision of how this could work? because in new york, in august, there was a shooting outside the empire state building, and highly trained new york city police officers ended up wounding nine bystanders. doesn't that create also a dangerous precedent that's worth some concern and caution? >> no. because here's -- what's the alternative?
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20 students massacred, six administrators, teachers? this is going to happen again and again and some people out there are trying to be thoughtful and say, well, let's restrict gun ownership or possession or the size and capacity of magazines, thinking somehow that this will improve school safety. it will not. and so, i'm trying to be realistic, is how can we do it, when you refer to new york city. some of the key elements in safety, in law enforcement officers are trained in this, and should be far more disciplined. and not to criticize these new york officers, but you always watch your backstop, in anyone this your environment, before you fire at anybody. and so, every police officer, just because we wear a badge, we're not superheroes. it takes discipline and it takes training and then you expect, in a crisis, that we can perform at least to the levels that we've
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trained at. >> well, that's the hope. sheriff one final thing for you. i want to read you a quote, republican president dwight eisenhower who said back in 1957, "it will be a sad day for this country if children can safely attend their classes only under the protection of armed guards." what does that voice from the past say to you about today's america and your proposal? >> well, circumstances -- circumstances certainly have changed. do i want to see a teacher or a principal be armed? i don't. but this is a circumstance and the threat that we're presented with today. the same way, would we ever imagine asking pilots who are charged with this awesome responsibility of flying an aircraft, and yet here today, because i fly armed, i have to meet the pilots, and they say, sheriff, i'm armed. the other pilot, sheriff, i'm armed. and so they, as well, have taken on this additional duty. and so, in the environment that we're in, what's the alternative? and that's where we have to have
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this conversation, as a nation, about, is gun laws and further restrictions, when we already have 20,000 plus laws and regulations? that's not going to work. because 99.9% of all gun owners follow the laws. it's these people who are mentally ill, and this is where we should have a conversation about addressing mentally ill people and doing something about it and empowering law enforcement to do something. >> sheriff babeu, thank you for coming "outfront" tonight. "outfront" next, we look back at our favorite political viral videos of the 2012 election. the good, the bad, and the ugly. and america isn't as divided as washington would have you believe. we find a glimmer of hope in the midwest. add up to 100 calories? your world. ♪ [ whispers ] real bacon... creamy cheese... 100 calories... [ chef ] ma'am [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. anyone have occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating? yeah. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day
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it's also a symbol of good luck, especially if you touch the buttons on the chimney sweeper's coat. happy new year, from germany.
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now let's check in with randi kaye, who's in for anderson cooper with a look ahead at what's on "a.c. 360". >> we're keeping 'em honest ton the program. a 360 follow on a story that stunned all of us. people who are trying to capitalize on the tragedy of newtown. this woman has been arrested, accused of lying to federal agents. you'll hear some of the things she sent out on her e-mails, playing on people's kindness, trying to get money. s and also, late word that president obama will meet with congressional leaders tomorrow. keeping 'em honest, with both sides caught in a trap of their own making? we'll go live to the white house
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and capitol hill for the latest. and take a look at this, a tornado from the storm system that created holiday havoc across the country and it's not over yet. those stories plus the top ridiculist of 2012. it's all at the top of the hour, john. zp >> thank you, randi. we'll be watching. appreciate it. our fifth story, outfront tonight, the viral political videos of 2012. now, there was no shortage of partisan noise today, from political ads to the countless stump speeches. but we here at "outfront" have picked the top 5 videos that really got folks talking around the water cooler. here to them down, will cain, roland martin, pete dominick, all-star contributors. we're going to have some fun with this. viral videos really did define this campaign. often it's a shrilip on the stu that gets picked up. let's listen to one of obama's slip. you didn't build that. >> someone helped to create this
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unbelievable system that allows you to thrive. someone invested in roads and bridges. if you've got a business, you didn't build that. >> now, that was turned into this viral video, with over a million views, easily. >> i'm barack obama, those ads, taking my words about small business out of context, they're flat-out wrong. >> if you've been successful, you didn't get that on your own. >> getting pretty inventive there. >> i'm glad we really started on a light note. could have built some camaraderie. now i have to tell you, it wasn't out of context. make my argument, give me three minutes, i'll prove to you it meant exactly -- >> will, seriously. i'm at the republican convention and they're holding their signs up, you didn't build that. i'm like, you're right, they built it in china. >> all the fact checking organizations say it was totally taken out of context and very misleading, but i really wish we had those three minutes for will to rehash the whole "you didn't build that" --
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>> please, never revisit that, you didn't build that. >> well, the viral videos helped spread the word about it. now, number four, our old friend herman cain, a lot of us were afraid after his pokemon concession speech, we'd never hear from him again, but he does have a life after the presidential campaign. this video involving chickens. >> is the average american taxpayer feeding big government? >> ahh! >> any questions? >> i've got a lot of questions. that is so weird. >> i totally get that video. see, the guy represents the american people, the chicken represents big government, and herman cain represents nobody ever, because he'll never get elected to anything, ever. >> you talk to herman, he still swears, he would have been the republican nominee. and i'm sitting there going, herman, seriously, you need a
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mental checkup. >> there's something in there that explains why we like herman ca cain. >> but sad reality, he was the republican front-runner. >> everybody was the republican front-runner! will was? >> never have chicken wings at a godfather's pizza. >> the next viral video is a subject near and dear to roland martin's heart, with sarah silverman as a spokeswoman for voter i.d.. >> you know, a lot of these laws require you to have a state-issued picture i.d., like a driver's license, but more than 21 million americans don't have driver's licenses. >> what about my social security card? i've been using it for 70 years. >> no photo, no voto. i'm on to your shenanigans, murray, if that is your real name. >> you take a clean 30 seconds out of the -- i played that, made the mistake today of playing that in front of my children and i had no idea what i was getting into. >> it proves that comedians,
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great comedians, through great comedy, can splexplain the situation. she really gets the point across. >> but voter i.d. wasn't targeted at sarah, it was people who look like me, so, sarah could have -- >> what are you saying? >> i'm just saying. >> what are you saying? put a brother in that video, it would have been true. >> we didn't show the whole video. >> right, right, the r-rated version. >> there was plenty of representation, to just about everyone. >> roland's fighting the good fight. some people are doing it, come i idy on viral video. this video, early on, help set the terms of the debate in some extent by riffing off an old eminem tune. will the real mitt romney stand up? >> i like being able to fire people. >> i'm rick santorum -- >> you're fired? >> icars. >> i love lakes. >> i'm running for office. >> i firmly believe in my own singing voice.
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♪ for purple mountains majesty above the fruited plain ♪ >> i mean, that is close to a work of art. they made it rhyme. >> they made it rhyme, made it look like he has rhythm. that wins an emmy. >> made it seem like he had a lot of personality in that video. by the way, the i like to fire people, also taken out of context. >> i'll give that to you. i saw someone write about romney once, he's authentically inauthentic. >> that dude has no rhythm whatsoever, none. he has a blank ipod. none. >> works great with children. >> got you. >> and they made it really memorable with that eminem tune. i wonder if he got royalties off that. >> why would he sing? he should know. >> america the beautiful? >> he was so careful about so many choices. the president can sing. he shouldn't have.
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i think we're going to talk about that, too. >> speaking of dancing. >> do we have politicians dancing video? >> we have been largely spared, but this is the new normal, right? this is the way debates are going to be conducted. in this case, it did seize on something early on. who is the real mitt romney. that was a question a lot of folks had going into the final hours of election day. >> all right. >> unexpected choice for number one, but a clear favorite of the "outfront" team, alan simpson going gangnam style. let's watch it. >> stott instagraming your breakfast and getting on youtube so you can see gangnam style. ♪ gangnam style >> i got a bum knee. >> the lasso again, and then the horse back. horse horse. >> there's just so much awesome about that. that was for a group called the
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can kicks back. >> what was awesome about that in. >> everything. >> roland is right. there was nothing awesome about that. as a matter of fact, roland is right, john. there's nothing right. nothing. >> john's problem is inside, he's a very old man, too. i mean, it proves old people should really -- really old people should never use social media. >> an old man who is in debt and deficits. >> he's going to do the hammer dance? >> he's one of these great public servant who will say or do whatever it takes to get people's attention on issues that really matter. and this group that sponsored it is the can kicks back. it's not 200 million views. >> i wish we could see al franken dancing in a unitard to fight wviolence against women.
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>> make the cut. >> who picked the list? >> we all did it. >> up next, a rust belt bright spot in 2013. we're going to take you there, next. and would always be there with the biggest welcome home. for a love this strong, dawn only feeds him iams. compared to other leading brands, it has 50% more animal protein. ...to help keep rocky's body as strong as a love that never fades... if he ever lets her leave again. iams. keep love strong. [ sniffs ] i took dayquil but my nose is still runny. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't treat that. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ breathes deeply ] awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is. that's the cold truth! to the best vacation sp(all) the gulf! [ male announcer ] yes, it is.
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they'll get straightforward guidance and be able to focus on other things, like each other, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. well, washington's division and dysfunction threatened our economic recovery, some american cities are working their way back after decades of tough times. recently, i traveled to youngstown, ohio, and caught a
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glimpse of hope deep in the rust belt. >> this is your father's first restaurant? >> the first one. >> what street was it, do you remember? >> wick avenue. >> wick avenue. >> yes, i've seen it in many different phases. but he taught himself english. he taught himself to read the newspaper, and he became a very successful businessman. as he would say, only in america. youngstown was prosperouprosper downtown youngstown was really prosperous. it was wonderful to go to downtown youngstown and be all dressed up in gloves and hat and going in and out of the shops and having lunch downtown. it was exciting.
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>> thank you for joining us. anderson cooper 360 starts right now. john, thanks. we begin tonight keeping them honest. it's a phrase we use a lot on this program and one we're passionate about. we feel it's important to point out dishonesty. perhaps never more important than the story we're bringing you tonight. last week as we were covering the shooting in newtown, connecticut, anderson learned something that frankly made us all sick to our stomachs. that people were actually attempted to capitalize on the tragedy, fraudulently trying to raise money in the victims' names. thanks to reporting by anderson, drew griffin, and our producer, tonight, a woman has been arrested in connection with one of those alleged scams. drew will join me with the details in just a moment, but first, here's how we got to this